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Facebook discussion on winter solstice 2012

I recently made a post on Facebook that gathered a few interesting responses. I’ve decided to share it here since I feel it touches some auspicious topics and has valuable content worth sharing. Below is the copy/paste version as best I could capture it from Facebook. Also, click here for the news article that inspired the post regarding the statements from Evo Morales.

Welcome to the new age, the age of Pacha. This is a time we must change our ways collectively to prevent our own suffering and extinction. In the words of Bolivia’s president Evo Morales:

“And I would like to say that according to the Mayan calendar the 21 of December is the end of the non-time and the beginning of time. It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha, the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood, it is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism – 21 of December this year. The scientists know very well that this marks the end of an anthropocentric life and the beginning of a bio-centric life. It is the end of hatred and the beginning of love, the end of lies and beginning of truth. It is the end of sadness and the beginning of happiness, it is the end of division and the beginning of unity, and this is a theme to be developed. That is why we invite all of you, those of you who bet on mankind, we invite those who want to share their experiences for the benefit of mankind.”

Tambra Garlick Driscoll As he should be what Logan….smoking something? The earth is holy…utilize it. In what way…clean coal production? Timbering? Growing hay for housing? As a playground? Okay, I am down with it, lets use it. You know in my part of the world we have been using it for quite sometime. We utilized it so well, we built the Carnegie, the Frick, and half of America with the end result…steel. LOL Logan, before you jump into some utopian rant, you should know that I am teasing Chaz…as he will know. He will also tell you to save the rant, I am a barbarbian…a republican.hell I even read Ayn Rand for fun..so spare yourself the effort.

Chaz Ott Lemme jump in here. Tamie, you raise a great point that I’m a privileged person, a product of a society that was built from the wealth of planetary resources at our disposal. That was the industrial age. I don’t condemn it or deny it. We have worked so hard to build this society, and I have been the recipient of a prosperous life because of it. We have tapped the abundance of the planet and built great things. But we have reached a point where the continuation of such practices will challenge our very survival on this planet. It’s not nature I’m worried about here. No, nature will live on, always, with or without us. It’s us that needs to worry. Because our current way of life cannot be sustained and we now have the tools to see it and the knowledge to know it. So this is our turning point. We can either keep on trying to defeat nature and kill ourselves in the process (add “Collapse” by Jared Diamond to your reading list if you doubt this), or we can change our ways to live peacefully as a part of nature just like every other species on Earth. Logan believes that the Earth is holy because he has connected to it. This is the age in which we must all connect to it. For a long time we have seen ourselves as separate from the environment, as though it is a thing for us to conquer. That view will no longer suffice, because it will lead to our destruction and suffering. We will continue to build great things and live prosperously, but we must do so in a way that is harmonious with our living planet, our home. We must become responsible stewards of the Earth that we borrow from our children – maintaining a healthy world, watching over the delicate balance of life, increasing fertility and resource yield through technology, etc. We must leave behind the mental health disease that is greed and the pursuit of personal wealth beyond our needs, and move into a world that meets the basic needs of all people collectively. It is the way forward. Alright I’m gonna go smoke another one because I’m in Washington state and it’s LEGAL wooohooo!!! LOL 🙂

Tambra Garlick Driscoll You lucky boy…I enjoyed what you wrote…very well done. I have read the book you suggested, you see I have many friends the espouse the same ideas as yours, and of course they gift me books. All that smokin ya know…it will bring the oddest sorts to your door. I am not against changing the way we view our world and our place in the cycle, nor am I against your friends assertion that the world is holy. Such philosophies are not new to man you know? As a well read person, I have explored many, and will continue to do so. Rather, my comment was more in the spirit of gentle teasing because not only your philosophy, but your journey of discovery, are no different than those experienced by other children of capitalism, including myself. Not rock climbing for me…western skies…5 years traveling the country and out of it, would not change those memories for anything. I, too, had my nights under the stars in the Rockies, burning and talking, talking, talking, about how much better the world could be. I hope you manage to hold on to your passion Chaz.